Cotterell removed his hat and wiped his brow as a labourer came up the hill running towards him, breathing hard and clearly out of breath.
"They be comin, they're comin!" yelled the young man as he pulled up panting.
"Who is coming?" growled Cotterell.
"Māori, sir. A whole lot of 'em, over there in the bay, in canoes!" He waved his arm to point in the distance.
Shading his eyes, Cotterell scanned the area. Just as the young labourer stated, there were a number of canoes heading towards the mouth of the river.
"Get back to work, boy, I'll deal with it."
The labourer ran off to rejoin his crew.
Replacing his hat, Cotterell looked again. He counted eight canoes and a whaleboat. Although too distant to count the number of men, it was a significant number, he thought. He hoped this was
